317: Chapter 316 Performing a Play

"Delay the kill..."

Yan Guofa's voice echoed in his mind, consisting of only those two words.

Chu Xuan's eyes flickered slightly.

Originally, he was still wondering why the other party had secretly given him this ring, but then he thought of the timing of the other party's appearance in the underground command center earlier, as well as his subsequent words and actions.

Now, combined with those two words...

"Huo Gui and his people are coming to intercept and kill me, and he wants me not to kill them yet?" Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly as this thought crossed his mind.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Chu Xuan put on the ring.

Just then, the surrounding earth suddenly surged like rolling waves, and three figures instantly burst out from within—it was none other than You Hongle and the other two Deputy Captains.

Each of them held a small bronze mirror, and the moment they appeared, they directed the light toward Chu Xuan.

“Chu Xuan, die!”

A sense of restraint washed over him. Chu Xuan raised his brows, immediately sensing that this binding force was actually much lighter than what he had felt before.

At the same time, a figure appeared out of thin air above his head; it was Huo Gui.

At this moment, what he held in his hand was not a radiant longsword, but a sphere covered in blood-red patterns, pulsing rhythmically.

A destructive aura emanated from within it.

The appearance of this scene was clearly unexpected even for You Hongle and the other two. Their expressions changed drastically; they never imagined Huo Gui would start with a suicidal tactic, which was completely different from the plan.

Chu Xuan's heart also skipped a beat. He instantly realized that this red sphere was different from before, appearing extremely unstable and seemingly on the verge of exploding at any moment.

Without a second thought, he raised his hand and pointed upward.

“Freeze!”

As the word left his mouth, Chu Xuan didn't hold back at all, and 300 points of spirituality value instantly vanished from his body.

A strange sight appeared!

Huo Gui, who was just two or three meters above Chu Xuan's head, was actually frozen in mid-air like that, and even the pulsing red sphere in his hand stopped at that moment.

Seeing this, Chu Xuan was inwardly shocked: This is only sixty percent of Yan Guofa's strength?

You've got to be kidding me.

As the user, Chu Xuan deeply felt the intense Sealing power when he used the ring just now.

Back in the underground space, if it had been this level of Sealing power, Chu Xuan asked himself, he probably wouldn't have been able to move and would have had to escape immediately using a random teleportation scroll.

Is old man Yan playing the tiger while looking like a pig?

At this moment, not just Chu Xuan, but You Hongle and the other two were also in disbelief. Despair had already taken root in their hearts, as they believed there was no chance of escape and they would surely be blown to pieces.

They never expected Chu Xuan to have such a trick up his sleeve, being able to freeze Huo Gui. The three of them felt a mix of joy and sorrow.

They were joyful because they weren't blown up, but sorrowful because Chu Xuan seemed far more powerful than they had imagined.

Immediately after, another peculiar scene unfolded!

With a "bang," the Huo Gui above emitted white smoke and transformed into a strand of hair, which remained frozen in mid-air along with the red sphere.

“A Clone...”

Chu Xuan narrowed his eyes. He had already been gripping a random teleportation scroll, but since the Sealing ring had taken effect, there was no need to waste it.

“A Clone?” You Hongle and the others finally reacted, their Faces pale with shock. Clearly, they hadn't anticipated this situation either.

“Quick, let's go! We've been set up...”

The three were about to flee, but at that moment, a metallic ringing sound echoed, and three Slashes flew toward each of them.

Accompanied by a loud booming sound, just like the scene in the underground control room earlier, You Hongle and the others were sent flying back, severely injured and spitting blood.

They were already on the verge of death, and the remaining spirituality value in their bodies was instantly incinerated by the Fire of Nirvana.

[Your spirituality value +135]

[Your spirituality value +150]

[Your spirituality value +180]

“More spirituality value?”

Chu Xuan's brow twitched. Recalling Yan Guofa's words, he hadn't delivered a killing blow just now, but these people clearly hadn't recovered from their previous injuries and were on the brink of death.

Just then, that familiar old voice rang out:

“Truly, the youth are to be feared! To think you unknowingly Copied the Sealing ability—is this the Talent from the Azure Dragon?” A hunched figure appeared before Chu Xuan. With a wave of his hand, the sphere, which was no longer pulsing and whose red light had faded, appeared in his palm.

Chu Xuan looked directly at Yan Guofa, his thoughts churning.

He had clearly performed the Sealing through the ring just now, but Yan Guofa attributed it to Copying. Obviously, he wanted to keep this matter hidden and didn't want anyone to know about the gift of the ring.

With a thought, a slight smirk appeared on Chu Xuan's lips: "I was just showing off my meager skills before an expert; I've made a fool of myself in front of you, Elder Yan."

Yan Guofa's eyes gazed deeply at Chu Xuan as he said in a raspy voice, “Give me some Face and spare their lives, alright?”

Chu Xuan's smile grew cold: “I already gave you Face and let them go once, but they didn't learn their lesson and came back to seek death. There won't be a second time!”

“Don't!”

At this point, You Hongle and the other two struggled to their feet, gritting their teeth. “We were just being used as pawns by Huo Gui. Chu Xuan, please let us go this time. No matter the price, we are willing to accept it...”

Yan Guofa nodded slightly: “Although they did something wrong, it wasn't their original intention. I hope you can prioritize the big picture and give them another chance; I will punish them myself.”

“Not their original intention?” Chu Xuan's eyes flashed with hostility, his voice icy: “Did you not genuinely want to kill me? Or are you saying you were under Heart Bewitchment?”

“We...” You Hongle and the others' Faces were deathly pale.

“ well...”

Yan Guofa gave a long sigh. Holding the red-patterned sphere, he brushed his other hand over it before presenting it to Chu Xuan, saying slowly: “This unstable, dangerous object has been Sealed by me. You can unseal it at any time and release it within three seconds. Consider this some compensation from me.”

After Chu Xuan took it, the System immediately sent a notification.

[Name: heart of the earth (Sealed)

Effect: You can consume 1 point of spirituality value to unseal and detonate this item. After 3 seconds, it will instantly trigger a violent explosion with a diameter of 500 meters, producing temperatures between 85 million and 100 million degrees Celsius. The shockwave will spread to a range of 2,500 meters, and living organisms within a 5,000-meter radius will suffer varying degrees of burns.

Tip: You can consume 100 points of spirituality value to authenticate it and store it in your Exclusive Space.]

This power is truly exaggerated.

Chu Xuan was slightly startled. This thing was comparable to the power of a small nuclear bomb, yet it was condensed to the size of a fist.

Chu Xuan's expression was a bit odd. He had a feeling that Yan Guofa was finding all sorts of excuses to send him supplies in roundabout ways.

Who was he putting on a show for?

In reality, whether it was this heart of the earth or that Sealing ring, either was enough to pay for the lives of those three people.

However, Chu Xuan thought of the two words "Delay the kill" in the message.

So... "Delay the kill" didn't mean "don't kill."

It meant waiting for Yan Guofa to come and stop him, putting on a show of confrontation?

With these thoughts, Chu Xuan's Face turned cold, and he directly consumed 100 points of spirituality value to store the heart of the earth into his Exclusive Space.

“How ridiculous. This was my trophy to begin with. Did I really need you to seal it for me? Do you think I can't do it myself?” Chu Xuan said coldly.

Yan Guofa stared straight at Chu Xuan and said slowly: “Young man, what else do you want? I will try my best to satisfy you. It's not easy for these people to grow to this level. Even if they are to die, they should die while dealing with Specter incidents, not at your hands...”

“This routine again? So in the future, if anyone wants to kill me and fails, some compensation is enough?”

Chu Xuan laughed mockingly: “These people are dead meat. Not even Yang Yu could save them if he came, let alone you. I said it!”

As he spoke, Chu Xuan's figure blurred as he charged straight toward You Hongle.

“Wait...”

The old voice sounded from behind, followed by a binding force that slowed Chu Xuan down considerably.

“Chu Xuan, I don't want to make a move against you. Don't force me...”

As Yan Guofa's sigh echoed, You Hongle and the others all showed looks of joy. However, Chu Xuan's eyes still brimmed with killing intent, and a metallic ringing suddenly erupted as he raised his hand.

“I said, you must die!”

Chu Xuan's eyes were sharp. With a wave of his hand, over a dozen Slashes tore through the air. The joy on the Faces of those three instantly froze, and amidst flying flesh and blood, they died on the spot.

...

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